Today Young Thai women have much more freedom to pursue non traditional careers and break from the family business scenario that previous generations have been obligated to. In 2015 I started shooting an ongoing series of portraits of young Thai women drawing on those I had met and worked with on commercial projects, animation, illustration etc. initially the portraits were to be used for an alt process workshop I attended in the USA. However the regular portrait sessions became a project in themselves to document this new generation of creative Thai women. A way to explore the basic most simple type of photography, Portraiture. Using purely natural light and simple or minimal props and a black background one can concentrate on the light and form of each individual subject. I work in a fairly hands off way letting the subjects find their own poses and expressions. Trying to capture the essence of them individually.
Largely shot on Medium format film with natural light at slow shutter speeds I am attempting to capture the aesthetic of older photographic traditions. Having experimented with various alternative photographic printing processes I was drawn to one particular challenging and niche process the Gumoil Process. However through experimentation I realised that fusing the pure Gumoil process with a digital enlargement and printing technique I could exaggerate and explore the footprint and patina of the analogue process.
A parallel exploration of the wet-plate collodion process resulted in a very similar revelation. Working at an optimal size 4×5 inch plates are scanned and due to the lack
of grain can be enlarged and printed at very large sizes where the footprint and analogue patina of the process can be enjoyed in all of its amazing alchemical glory. These two streams of exploration blend together to provide several facets through with to view these incredible young women launching themselves into the new Thailand.
